This invention relates generally to individuals who are encapsulated in protective garments and more particularly to the treatment of such individuals while in a chemically contaminated environment when such individuals become casualties
Within the scope of personnel protection against a chemically contaminated environment such as would result from chemical warfare, the protection of individuals is a high priority. Effective protection of individuals is provided by a protective garment which includes a sealed face mask and respiration system to filter and purify air drawn into the garment. However, persons in such garments are subject to physiological and thermal stresses, chemical injuries due for example to exceeding the filter capacity of their respiration system as well as wounds inflicted by more conventional weaponry.
Rapid entrance and egress of personnel protected by such garments into and out of protective shelters as well as the treatment of casualties within a chemically contaminated environment by moving them into larger protective shelters was addressed by U.S. patent application Ser. No. 390,100 filed June 21, 1982, and assigned to the same assignee as the present application. However, moving many casualties to a protective shelter and removing the persons from the protective garments into the shelter by use of a specially designed ambulance, may not always be practical. Ambulances obviously cannot be provided in numbers sufficient to care for potentially numerous casualties which may occur in a contaminated area, for example, as the result of chemical/conventional warfare. Since presently it is not otherwise possible to gain access to a casualty in a chemically contaminated area to observe life signs, and to administer necessary first aid in the field without contaminating the casualty, the need exists for a method and apparatus for field treatment of casualties in a chemically contaminated area.